startup teams lose a cofounder. The data shows cofounder conflict is the #1 preventable cause of startup failure.
You're avoiding hard conversations. Meetings that used to be productive now feel tense. You're second-guessing each other's decisions. Maybe you've stopped communicating altogether.
The problem isn't that you disagree — it's that you've lost the ability to disagree well.
Jason Shen brings a rare combination: the hard-won experience of a startup operator and the evidence-based tools of a relationship scientist. He's been where you are.
After his own painful cofounder breakup nearly ended his company, Jason trained with the Gottman Institute — the gold standard in relationship science — and developed a methodology specifically for startup partnerships. That difficult experience became the foundation for helping others.
The methodology combines Gottman-based relationship science with deep startup context. It's not therapy. It's not mediation. It's a structured program for founders who are ready to do the work — and get back to building together.
You stop sharing what you're really thinking. Small annoyances accumulate.
Key decisions stall. Conversations become circular.
Trust breaks down. One or both founders consider leaving.
With intervention, most partnerships can be repaired.
Most teams reach out during Phase 2 or 3. The earlier you start, the more options you have.
Diagnostic tools, individual sessions, CliftonStrengths analysis
De-escalation techniques, listening frameworks
Bi-weekly facilitated sessions on live issues
Pressure-test patterns, maintenance plan
"The Gottman-based work on affirming positive needs gave us a framework we still use every week. Jason didn't just help us resolve our conflict — he gave us tools to prevent the next one."
— David K., CEO & Cofounder (Seed stage)
The first conversation is free, confidential, and zero-pressure.